The cost of attending a Premier League match has jumped by about 600% since 1989 but, after complaints from fans and campaigns in the media calling on clubs to reduce their charges, the annual escalation of season-ticket prices finally appears to be grinding to a halt.

Some will view it as a seismic shift, others as merely a crumb of hope for an industry hell-bent on selling its soul, but either way the fact that the majority of top-flight clubs have either frozen or dropped their ticket prices for the forthcoming campaign will be met with whoops of delight among supporters across the country.

The figures provide the first indication that the new £2.7bn Premier League TV deal is encouraging clubs to take a more charitable stance towards their followers. In January this newspaper revealed Blackburn Rovers' plans to use the extra revenue to slash their admission prices and they have been joined by Aston Villa, Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic.

"The extra TV revenue allows us the opportunity to do this but the simple explanation is that unless we drop our prices we won't get the attendances," said Matt McCann, head of communications at Wigan. "Supporters have told us the reason people weren't coming was because it was too expensive. They are not prepared to come and watch an expensive football game when they can sit in a pub and watch it for free."

On average, about 30% of seats at Wigan's JJB Stadium were empty every match last season, and Blackburn's Ewood Park was even further from selling out. John Williams, the Rovers chairman, says the club expect to lose roughly £1m by dropping season-ticket prices but, with sales already up, the early signs suggest he can be confident of recouping much of that in increased attendances.

Of the clubs that have declared their season-ticket sales for this season, some have sold out and of the rest all but Middlesborough are on course to equal or better last year's figures. Arsenal have sold all of their 31,000 season tickets and have 20,000 supporters on their waiting list. Fulham have sold 29% more tickets than at this point last year and Aston Villa have sold 22,000, a 19% rise.

Chelsea, Reading and Tottenham Hotspur have all sold out, the last despite a below-inflation price rise. West Ham have sold 26,000, 2,500 more than last season, and Sunderland 30,000, which is 9,000 more than 2006-07. Wigan, who 10 years ago had an average crowd of 1,500 and only a couple of years ago a season-ticket base of about 3,000, have sold 12,500 season tickets, 2,000 up on last season on the back of massive price cuts.

There is no more poignant sign of the potential dangers facing clubs who raise their prices than the page on Manchester United's website publicising the availability of season tickets for the forthcoming campaign. The reigning Premier League champions, one of the world's best-supported clubs, have seen their waiting list - previously estimated at 14,000 fans - disintegrate to zero. United fans wishing to renew their tickets are facing price increases of about 13% and the Manchester United Supporters Trust believe more than 6,000 season-ticket holders have not renewed as a result.

The greatest price increase comes at Sunderland, who marked their return to the top division with increases at over four times the rate of inflation. "We want to make football affordable for our supporters and, although there was a small increase this summer for new season-ticket holders, it was reflective of both our divisional status and the fact there has not been an increase in seven years, and still represents excellent value for money," said a Sunderland spokesman. "Our season-ticket prices still compare favourably with other clubs."

Officials from Liverpool, Tottenham and West Ham, who have all put up their prices, said their policies had been based on the fact that demand for tickets is greater than the quantity they are able to supply and so "affordable" increases are a valid method of driving revenues. If the situation at Old Trafford is anything to go by, such a policy may soon backfire.